Kate Deveaux
Intrigued about what servants and their staff get up to after hours in a modern day Upstairs Downstairs?
In THE BUTLER DID IT, work soon turns to play when successful fashion mogul, Vivienne Martin, meets the sexy new butler for her Miami home. Clarkson Dale is the consummate professional, but Vi can’t get him out of his Ermenegildo Zegna suit fast enough. She’s a woman who is used to getting what she wants and when she reveals her deepest fantasies to Clarkson, he rises to the occasion. Sometimes breaking the rules can be so much more fun.
- You are a former wedding planner so please tell us about some of your most memorable experiences doing this.
After a few years, I began to specialise in Tropical wedding planning in holiday destinations; mostly in Hawaii, the Caribbean and Mexico. I wasn’t usually present for the actual weddings, however, one time I was in Maui when my clients wed. Now that had to be the most memorable! To witness a bride and groom married on the beach at sunset, with the sound of the waves and the tropical music — it was just so romantic it still makes my heart skip a beat.
- How much did this profession aid your writing?
I think working with couples for months, even years on end, planning their perfect day, gave me a close up view of relationships. I could see how couples are attracted to one another, learn their stories of how they met, and see that first bloom of love, whether it is young brides and grooms, or more mature couples. The whole experience was great for later writing romance. But then, there were the family dynamics (more like horror writing!). They’d make my head spin, and unless you’ve witnessed it, you just can’t make that stuff up!
- You enjoy travelling so where in the world is your favourite place to go?
I will pack a suitcase at the drop of the hat. My favourite place? I would have to say Capri, Italy. It is so gorgeous and smells divine!
- You were born in England so why did you decide to move to Arizona?
A man stole my heart and still has it after twenty-five years — so Arizona it is.
- You have loved romance fiction since college so who were your favorite reads back then?
I remember enjoying these authors from when I was in college: Danielle Steel, Jackie Collins, Rosamunde Pilcher, Maeve Binchy, Colleen McCollough, VC Andrews, and Sidney Sheldon.
- Do you need to be a die-hard romantic to write erotic and romantic fiction?
No I don’t think so at all. I often have to make my characters do things that are definitely not happily ever after. I think the important thing is to have a story to tell and to enjoy telling it.
- Why did you decide to set the book in Miami?
When I wanted to write a modern day twist on a Downton Abbey/ Upstairs Downstairs theme, I decided what could be further from a stately English manor home than a swanky Miami penthouse? The setting and the heroine are very nouveaux riche and thoroughly modern. Not to mention Miami in July is very hot and steamy! Perfect for what Vi and her butler get up to after hours.
- Why did you want the character of Clarkson to be a butler?
I wanted to contrast the professional, highly trained dignified role of a butler against the other side of him — the sexually irresistible man who shows up at Vi’s door. Proper by day and very improper (but so much fun!) by night.
- What is next for you?
I’m just finishing up an erotic romance, BIMINI BOUND, set on a private yacht in the Bahamas with an older heroine/younger man, voyeurism and ménage. Also, I just finished a Valentine’s themed erotic romance, PLATINUM PLEASURES, featuring sexy mistaken identity and BDSM. I have an exciting list of ideas for upcoming books and a few sequels, hopefully for THE BUTLER DID IT, so keep on the lookout for those!
Read an extract from The Butler Did It now!
http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/sex/the-butler-did-it-316771.html
You can purchase The Butler Did It from Total-E-Bound Publishing today!